


Fill In The Gaps

by randomramblesff



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community Appreciation Week 2017, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, dk how, like wow must be magic, season 6, somehow annie ends up at jeff's high school reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 18:32:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10747425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomramblesff/pseuds/randomramblesff
Summary: For #communityaw17 (Day 4 - Classic Trope):“I’m Annie,” She stood forward, her champagne free hand ready to shake.“My fiancée.”“Pffft, ugh, sorry,” She tapped at her chest with the palm of her hand, knocking even more wind out of her than Jeff had already just done, “the, erm, the champagne, I think, didn’t settle right.”





	Fill In The Gaps

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this in my selection of WIPs for a while so I thought I would somehow finish it as it seemed fitting for the trope prompt this week. Set sometime during Season 6, as usual with me.

He was wearing a black sweater of some sorts, covered up by a crisp grey suit jacket and matching pants, his hands stuffed into the pockets as he glanced around, tilting his head back and forth to get a closer look at whatever was going on inside the glass door in front of him.

It was strange seeing Jeff outside of Greendale (well, the school at least). It was almost like seeing a turtle out of its shell; he was still the same Jeff Winger, but he looked smaller and more vulnerable, more _alone._ You could tell he wasn’t so at ease with his surroundings as usual. It was almost like his shell, or oddly comforting cocoon of the Greendale campus, gave him the ability to stand straighter and look bigger than he was because there was nobody to tell him that he was anything _but_ the strongest and coolest guy in town… well, other than himself, which is something Annie had noticed recently, even if she didn’t want to admit it.

She could see a few people mingling about behind the glass panels, all similarly dressed; the women in knee length dresses, the men in shirts with rolled up sleeves and smart trousers as if they’d just arrived from work. He was still stood there, obviously making no attempt at entering the building. The light up ahead was still glowing red, so she relaxed slightly, dropping a hand from the steering wheel to sit back and carry on watching from the corner of her eye. She could see the light glaring back on Jeff anyway, his face lit up by a mix of the yellow lights above him and the red in front.

He was scuffing at his shoe and that’s when she wondered if maybe he was waiting for someone. She glanced back to the light then and wished for it to turn green or at least yellow so she didn’t have to witness Jeff picking up a girl and walk off in the opposite direction, completely oblivious that she’d seen the whole thing play out. He’d never know. It was a huge coincidence that they were in the exact same place at the exact same time.

The light stayed firmly red and Jeff carried on scuffing, fairly lightly she might add, seeing as he probably didn’t want to scuff the leather on what looked like fairly expensive work shoes. He stopped for a second and pulled out his phone, the screen shining up in the darkness, changing colour every now and then as he clicked onto different pages. Within moments, though, he was turning it back off and was sliding it back into his jacket pocket, before running his fingers carefully through his hair, dropping his hand to straighten his lapels. He wasn’t waiting for anyone, she realised. He was waiting for his nerves to settle.

She’d seen him like this once or twice before, mainly before finals. He’d stand outside the classroom and hand out snide remarks, but all at the same time, he’d be scratching behind his ear or rhythmically be blowing out air so his cheeks puffed out.

That’s when an ambulance passed and it all made sense why the lights still hadn’t changed. It was the outskirts of Denver, accidents were common, so it was unlikely she was going anywhere soon… not that she was going anywhere other than the apartment. She’d just finished work and now she was sat in her car on some random road, with Jeff on the sidewalk.

She sighed and turned off her engine, mulling over whether she should just attempt to turn around and go back the other way. She glanced back at Jeff and then back to her cup holder, before stretching out and grabbing the phone from where it rested.

ANNIE: Look to your right :)

She put her phone back and rested her elbow on the side of the window, her cheek in her hand as she waited for Jeff to reach inside his pocket and read the message.

It had been two minutes since she’d sent it, so she checked her phone to make sure it actually _had_ sent, before giving up and doing what she’d been thinking about doing since she’d stopped her car in the queue anyway; she beeped the horn.

She ignored the hand that came out of the car in front’s window because Jeff was now looking at her, his brow furrowed in confusion before he stepped forward and laughed under his breath, crouching down to meet her at her level, waiting for her window to slowly roll down.

“What are you doing here?” He had his hand up on the roof of her car meaning the fabric of his jacket was swaying slightly, his cologne drifting through the window. He’d definitely put a lot more effort into his outfit than it looked.

“Erm, I could ask you the same thing? You’ve been stood there for about fifteen minutes.”

“And you just sat here?”

“Well, the road’s blocked so where else do you expect me to go?”

“No, I just mean you should have just said hello when you first saw me.”

“Well I didn’t and still _don’t_ know what you were doing so I didn’t want to get involved.”

“What did you think I was doing?”

“I don’t know! You look all dressed up and… this is a pretty fancy place.” Her voice shrieked a little as she shrugged her hands up in the air. He sighed and stood up straight, looking slightly more like himself again.

“I’m here for… I… I got invited to this… high school reunion thing… so… there’s a bunch of people I haven’t seen in years inside of there and I was just kind of… I don’t know…”

“You’re nervous?”

He rolled his eyes and clenched his teeth.

“No… maybe… I don’t know, it’s weird. I don’t really know what I’m doing here, to be honest.” Jeff pinched the bridge of his nose and leant back against the car, in no fear that it was suddenly going to drive away.

“Well don’t back out now, you made the effort to come so you may as well go in. Who knows, you might reunite with somebody you never thought you would.”

He sighed and pushed forward again, scuffing the sidewalk as he obviously began contemplating his attendance once more.

“You didn’t answer _my_ question. What are _you_ doing here?”

“I’m driving home from work.”

“I didn’t realise the lab was so far out.”

“It’s twenty minutes from Greendale, it’s not _that_ bad.”

“Oh.”

A couple linked by the arms walked past and into the (what Annie presumed was) hotel, the lady’s heels clicking against the marble steps.

“So, are you going to come in with me, or what?”

“What?” Annie jolted her neck back in the car, her strap digging into her skin as she looked up at him in puzzlement.

“What do you mean, what? You’re here, I’m here, there will be free food and drink, so you may as well come in and wait for the road to clear.”

“So… you want me to come to your high school reunion where I know absolutely _nobody,_ I’ll most probably be the youngest one there, I’m wearing this pantsuit which cost me forty dollars and my hair’s a mess from being tied up all day?”

“No, I want you to come to my high school reunion where I _also_ basically know absolutely nobody and look a _million_ dollars in that pantsuit which only cost you forty. Also, your hair looks fine; most people in there are either balding or concealing it all with dye.”

The way he was looking at her now, all eyes which wouldn’t stop flicking between her own and all eyebrows which were raised by just enough to peak her curiosity to what the night could lead to - she kind of had to just say yes.

“Okay but I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to just park my car here.”

“I’ll pay the fine?”

“No, you’re not paying the fine. I’ll go park it over there.” Annie pointed a finger towards the other side of the road where there was luckily just a single small parking space left. She reversed as much as she could before she hit the car behind which had only just driven up, and swung around to park, ignoring the snigger she could hear out the window from Jeff as her car made a creaking noise.

She crossed the road, her heels doing the clicking now as she stood onto the sidewalk and sighed with a smile.

“There _better_ be the free food like you promised.”

“There is, I swear, I’ve already seen inside.”

Jeff led the way, pushing through the glass doors into a foyer which was bustling with people now, all with champagne glasses in their hands and a partner on their arm, he noticed.

_“Are these people_ all _from your high school?”_  Annie whispered, leaning into his shoulder as he stood and scanned the room, trying to recognise at least one face out of a sea of many. He ducked his head to respond.

_“I think there are some people from other years too. It’s not like my high school was a big one or anything.”_ She nodded and smiled as someone passed and smiled back to her too.

“I think I’m going to need _all_ the champagne.” Jeff tugged on her arm rather ungracefully, striding over to a table which was dotted with fresh glasses of golden bubbles, and plates of minuscule combinations of different foods like bacon and asparagus and what looked like mushroom kebabs.

Annie clasped her fingers around a flute before watching Jeff chug a glass down in one, already searching for another. They were fairly small glasses, but she couldn’t help but feel that was a little excessive. She continued to watch on, but he sipped the second glass, catching her eye over the rim.

“Shouldn’t you… maybe… go and find the person who invited you?” Annie piped up as Jeff lifted his head above a couple of people and squinted. His eyes widened and she knew he’d caught onto someone. He gestured towards a door before skimming past a woman in heels taller than a cat’s tail, barely avoiding knocking her down. It was easier for Annie though; being petite had its benefits in crowded situations, seeing as you can dodge in and out of people without them even noticing.

At one point, she was lost but then she saw a hand being held out, and she knew it was him. She stilled herself and was greeted with a face that instantly lit up as soon as the woman laid eyes on Jeff. She had straw like, shoulder length hair that complimented the sleek purple dress she was wearing, cutting off at her calves that dipped into a pair of heels. She was sophisticated, but her voice was raspy and her nails weren’t painted, so the illusion was ruined once you looked close enough.  

“Jeffrey! Oh, my gosh, it’s so great to see you. You are looking… well, I’ll just say you’re looking better than all of the men in the room, except Jeremy because, well, we’d be on grounds for a divorce if I said that.” Jeff smiled widely, his grin not quite reaching his eyes as he mumbled a thank you and sipped back more champagne.

“Thank you, erm… yeah, it’s… quite a night you’ve put on.”

“Oh bless, it wasn’t all me. Charlotte, you remember her, right? She and a few others decided we should do something.” The woman winked, changing Jeff’s expression from false amusement to genuine at the name ‘Charlotte’, making Annie realise she probably shouldn’t have been worried about Jeff meeting someone on the outside of the venue when there were probably dozens of women he’d been with, in the room… not that she knew what he was like in high school, but it had to start somewhere, right?

It also reminded her of the fact that Jeff was still clasping onto her hand. She’d barely noticed until he’d shifted his weight, but now she could feel every inch of his skin against hers; all rough and padded, soft yet firm.

“Charlotte… _Johnson?_ ”

“Keith, now, actually.”

“Wow… that’s a… blast from the past.”

“It really is. So, how are you? Who’s this? Introduce me, don’t just accept a compliment and think about your old flame.” Annie gulped down slightly more champagne at that, whilst Jeff tried to think of how to respond - _I was fifteen._

“Oh erm, you’re right, this is… Annie. My…” He paused and moved his lips around, fumbling around with different labels in his mind… _everything_ is what he landed on. He closed his eyes for longer than a blink and hoped he hadn’t actually slapped himself in the face.

“Friend… from… work.” It was partly true. All that mattered, though, was the fact that neither of them had noticed his slight mental breakdown over the fact that he didn’t really know what to call Annie. After saying it out loud, ‘friend’ just didn’t seem to cut it anymore, even if she didn’t know it… _yet_ (he was still working on that one).

“Nice to meet you, I’m Melissa. I was one of Jeffrey’s old classmates.” Annie accepted a handshake, trying not to smile too hard at the fact that she was calling Jeff, _Jeffrey._ It’s not that nobody did, it just wasn’t often.

“Speaking of which, go and mingle with some more! We can catch up later.” Jeff and his ‘friend’ barely had a chance to nod before she was gone, the crown of her hair being the only way of following her movements.

“Well, that was weird.”

“You’re telling me! _Old flame?_ ”

Jeff rolled his neck and faced her, waiting a minute for her devious smile to subdue by a small percent.

“No, not _old flame._ I was fifteen.”

“Aww, little teenage Jeff and his first crush.”

“Not a first crush, I lost my virginity to her and _no_ we are not going to meet her and whoever that Mr Keith guy is.” He could see her mouth dropping open and her eyes redeem their devious spark and he knew exactly what was coming, so he stood back and looked up at the chandelier covered ceiling.

“Wait… you didn’t have like… history with her did you? _Charlotte Johnson_ , it was just…?” She took her time to spell out her name, ending her sentence questioningly, making him twist his lips up to the side in annoyance.

“No, of course not, and can you not say her name because she could b-…” Jeff felt a firm slap on his shoulder and a booming voice, “…be, right over… my… shoulder.”

“Charlotte Johnson, did I hear you say? Haha, she’s a real fox now. You think she was hot back then? Go and see her now. I saw her a few minutes ago.” Annie looked down at her feet feeling somewhat guilty but still biting her lip at the image of teenage Jeff.

“Michael Williams… I can recognise that voice from possibly across an ocean, even now.” Jeff swallowed, wishing that Michael’s hand was no longer on his shoulder.

If Jeff thought he had a large figure back at school, then it was even truer now. He was just a generally all round large person with a large stature and a beer belly which had probably been brewing since the years he’d tormented Jeff in class. He’d never been quite sure why Michael had focused on him as someone to point out as a weakling, but he had, and no matter how well he played off innocent all these years later; it was the truth.

“Mr Winger never thought I’d see you again.”

“Yeah well, lots of things come as a surprise.”

Jeff huffed out a laugh before taking a deep breath, looking around the room as Michael stood and scoffed back a finger sandwich. Annie was pouting her lips out at a point as she tried to deal with the lull in the conversation.

“Do you know what? You should meet my wife, she’s a real number. I can see her from here.” Michael slapped Jeff on the shoulder again, almost pushing him forward before calling out ‘Cindy’ a couple of times, stepping back as a slim redheaded woman who Jeff would usually find attractive, joined them.

“Hi, Jeff, you must be Cindy?” Jeff held out a hand, Cindy’s fingers barely even clasping around his own before they dropped and returned to her champagne glass. Michael scooped his arm around her waist and sagged into her side, raising his eyebrows as he flashed his teeth towards Annie.

“So, erm, who’s this little number, hmm? Is Jeff doing a _terrible_ job of introducing you?” Annie half-laughed, unsure of what to say as all three of them looked down at her with wide eyes, making her become very aware of the fact she hadn’t worn high enough heels for this occasion. She was waiting for Jeff to say something but he looked as if he hadn’t even heard the man.

He was wandering his eyes around the room, every linked arm and every glisten of a ring being magnified. Every simultaneous movement of two people, every laugh and every hand on a shoulder… and then he was looking back at Michael and Cindy, not even a centimetre gap between them as they stared back expectantly.

“I’m Annie,” She stood forward, her champagne free hand ready to shake.

“My fiancée.”

“Pffft, ugh, sorry,” She tapped at her chest with the palm of her hand, knocking even more wind out of her than Jeff had already just done, “the, erm, the champagne, I think, didn’t settle right.”

“Are you okay, honey?” Jeff’s stare was hard, his eyes telling her to just roll with it, _honey._

“Hmm? Yup, definitely, I mean, what’s not to love about this guy? Who wouldn’t want to be almost married to him?” He knew she was teasing him, especially when she mirrored Michael’s pose, slipping her arm around his waist, giving the back of his hip a pinch.

“Bit of a slacker, though isn’t he? Where’s her ring, Winger?” Michael tilted his head and gestured towards her hand where it was showing around Jeff’s back.

“The ring? Oh, right, yeah, the ring… it’s in… the jewellers because it needed resizing. Her fingers are _really_ small.”

“Small fingers aren’t always a bad thing.” Cindy winked and purred into Michael’s neck, making Jeff shiver.

“It’s also because he really just _sprung_ it on me! It was a total surprise, completely out of the blue… _nobody_ was expecting it… not even him, so, the ring came later on and I’m still waiting!” Annie squeezed his hip again and smiled tightly.

“So how long have you been together?” Cindy asked, looking them both up and down as she carried on clinging onto Michael who was obviously becoming very uninterested in the conversation.

“Um… a couple… few years.”

With Michael’s finger sandwich long gone, he whacked a hand out at Jeff’s arm and winked sarcastically.

“He’s got his facts straight then.”

Annie smiled tightly, squeezing Jeff’s hip even harder. She really wanted to pull him away into a quiet corner and scream at him because _what. The. Hell. Jeff._ It wasn’t just the fact he’d suddenly sprung it on her with no warning, it was the fact that he was still going and going _badly,_ one might say.

“Jeff, _honey,_ would you take me to the bathroom?” It was the only way to get his attention, she gathered. He turned his head down towards her, meeting her fixed smile with his own; his teeth gritted.

“Sure.” He returned his attention to Michael and Cindy momentarily, “Have a g-“, he coughed under his breath to avoid having to wish them anything _good_ , “evening.”, before he waved a hand and followed where Annie was leading him. He wasn’t sure where, possibly outside to berate him or perhaps genuinely to the bathroom but it wouldn’t seem like Annie to need his assistance. But then again, he didn’t seem like himself in the moment, so could he really have blamed her?

They ended up at the furthest end of a hallway where only a few people were mingling, making the beratement seem more plausible. She didn’t say anything though, she just shook her head, bulged her eyes and waved her hands in the air awaiting an answer. He prepared for her to slap his chest or let out a whine of frustration. He sighed and turned his back so that he was hiding her, for some reason.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay. I panicked and freaked out because… everyone here is way more successful than me and has their lives sorted out. And that guy back there? He’s a douchebag, like a _real_ one. He used to bully me every day at school and I guess, I just wanted to show him that I had something even if it was just for a split second… and unfortunately, that ended up being you, and I’m sorry. I mean, what else do I have? You really want me to go out there and tell them all that I’m a sucky teacher at a failing community college? And… the whole engagement thing, I don’t know… everyone here is either married or at least _has_ been before and I guess it’s part of the reason I almost didn’t come in… it…” He dropped his chin to the floor, avoiding her gaze, “…it’s not always great being alone all the time.”

Annie wasn’t sure what she expected Jeff to say. She wasn’t sure if it surprised her, especially after what happened with Britta and the _real_ albeit short-lived engagement. Maybe Jeff _did_ want to settle down and commit to somebody, he just wasn’t sure how to go about it.

“So, leave if you want, I understand if I made it weird, I’ll take full responsibility for that but… it would help if you stayed. And I can try and get you something in return if you want, I um,” He threw a hand up in the air, gesturing along with his thoughts, “I think there’s somebody I used to know who works in forensics now. I could probably introduce you if you wanted. But, again, if you want to leave then…”

It was her turn to talk and fill in the gaps as he watched her. His eyes flickered across her face in anticipation. It was the sort of thing she would have jumped at the chance of helping him with years ago; standing by his side, _pretending,_ but now, she wasn’t so sure. She’d regret it, probably. But there was also a chance that Jeff just needed some help and she was there to give it. Nothing more, nothing less.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll stay. I’ll take the offer of you introducing me.” She smiled under her lashes and he nodded slowly. Before he had a chance to thank her though, her eyes were light up enthusiastically. “But if we’re going to do this, we have to do it properly which involves you getting some facts in place. Most fiancés would know exactly how long they’d been with their partner, or at least, mine would.”

“Right, uh… well, I don’t know, pick a number.”

“Well, you said a few years, so, I guess, three? That sounds like a solid amount of time.”

He shrugged before stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“And we’ll stick with the ring story although I doubt anybody will notice… I don’t think he was just looking at my hands…”  Jeff squinted, cringing.

“I wouldn’t doubt it.”

“So, who do you want to go and reunite with?”

He thought about it for a moment and tilted his head.

“Anybody who didn’t laugh at my haircut or lose their virginity with me.”

He watched the confusion flow over her expression as she tried to work out what exactly that would mean.

“Should… be… easy then?”

* * *

 

It was easy to start with, for the most part, it was just Jeff bumping into people near the table holding champagne. He held his hand out and introduced her when it seemed fit. Nobody seemed at all interested in her anyway, it was all about what ‘Winger’ had been up to in recent years and everything other than his romantic life, which quite honestly, Annie knew nothing about other than the fact it was probably rather unexclusive and Britta was one of the more recent names on his list.

“So yeah, we’ve been running the company now for ten years.”

“Wow, that’s a long time, congratulations.” Jeff added on, smiling widely at the couple in front of them. Annie hadn’t quite caught their names as she’d been taking one of the canapes from a tray to her side. Of course, that’s when a question pointed in her direction occurred, leaving her to try and quickly finish off the food in her mouth, a hand cupped around her face. She swallowed before stepping in a little closer.

“I was just asking how Jeff proposed. I’m always interested in those stories because it’s been such a long time since it happened to me.” They’re high school sweethearts, Annie presumed. Jeff stayed quiet and still, letting her answer without support or guidance.

“Well… it’s… a… funny… story, now that you ask. We…” She looked up at him, eyes wide, “…were… on… a… skiing trip. And, he… popped the question at the bottom of the slope. It was very romantic in the snow. And also, very cold.” She tried not to catch Jeff’s gaze because he was probably as unsure as she was about why she’d picked out a ski trip in particular. They’d never even been on one. Well, there was that one time, almost.

“Yeah, but, we warmed up afterwards, right?” He smirked as she finally looked up at him. His eyes were dark and full and dropping to her lips and his hand on her hip felt heavy.

“They don’t need to know about that though, do they?” His suggestiveness caught on, so she played along with it, laughing and smiling and winking and doing everything she could to make Jeff look happy; make him look like he wasn’t so alone.

“That sounds very sweet. Congratulations to you too. I’m sure the day will be wonderful.”

As soon as the conversation died down and the couple walked off, Jeff lowered himself to her height.

“Ski trip?”

She glared at him blankly.

“Fiancée?”

“Fair point.”

Her phone buzzed then, right against her chest in the inside of her blazer pocket.

“Oh, Abed’s calling me. He probably wants to know where I am. I’ll just… tell him I have to work late?”

“Yeah… whatever, uh… oh, hi, yeah, I remember, yeah, we used to live nearby. Mollie, right?” Annie decided to text instead so she quickly slipped her phone away and drew herself into the new conversation. The woman, _Mollie,_ was wearing a simple green dress with a cream jacket on top, her hair pinned to one side.

“Yeah, my youngest brother Jamie used to know you and your mom. He lives in London now so that’s why he couldn’t make it. I’ll have to introduce you to my husband Jonathan but he’s somewhere over there probably getting himself drunk.” She laughed, keeping the finger she’d pointed poised underneath her chin with elegance. “But what about you, who should I be being introduced to?”

“Oh, uh, this is Annie, my fiancée.” Annie’s smile was sharp and false but only to Jeff. It was the word fiancée, it sounded uncomfortable and strained against her ears like a curse word when she was younger; a word not meant for her use. “I was actually telling Annie about you earlier because I’ve heard about some of the work you’ve been doing.”

Annie’s ears shot back along with her shoulders until they dropped with realisation. She stood taller though and paid more attention than to everyone else. It was Jeff’s opportunity to daze out of the conversation because this is what he told Annie he’d give her, in response to whatever kind of mess he most probably had to clear up after all of this. He didn’t want to think about why he’d carried on with it all; he could have just told Michael and left it at that. She could have just left him alone.

“She seems like quite the worker then.” Mollie nudged him back to alertness.

“Hmm, oh yeah,” Annie was leaning into him, a genuine smile on her face and he let it sink in for a moment, “she works really hard, she’s super passionate about everything too. It’s one of the reasons I love her.” He smiled to keep the act up, once again not thinking about it, as if it would burn it like a magnifying glass on ants; it would blow up in his face right there and then. He can remember her face though; the smile slipped and her head dropped where it was rubbing up against him at this side.

“Well, you look like a good match. I’m glad you found each other _and_ I’m glad I found you. I can give you my card if you want.”

The smile was back but not for him. She took Mollie’s card and held it close, so he did too, he held _her_ close, tucking her head under his chin.

He felt rigid and stiff against her and the only reason she was still standing there was because she had a card in her hand which could lead to something new. Jeff wasn’t leading her to something new, she was leading her down the same path as before – falling for the false moments and the fleeting sense of intimacy that died down as soon as it wasn’t for show or for filling a sense of want and need.

“It was lovely to meet you and I’ll definitely follow you up but I think I’m just going to pop to the bathroom. I’ll find you in a minute, okay, Jeff?”

“Oh, okay.” His fingers trailed after as she manoeuvred through the crowds of people. It wasn’t until Mollie had left him alone until he realised that Annie had turned towards the exit.

* * *

 

There was a small square of paving to the side of the building, lit up green because the road had been cleared since she’d parked and joined him inside. It was cold and the air smelled of rain so she crossed her arms and shrugged up her shoulders. She knew she would regret it. As soon as he said the words she’d felt it; that sense of false hope. That knowing that it took _seriously_ moving on to move on from. She loved Jeff, she knew she did and always would until hopefully, somebody else filled his space. Or not hopefully, but then there it was again, that small seed of an idea that maybe one day, he’d change his mind and would be saying all of those things for real.

She turned around a couple of times, mistaking footsteps for his. She supposed she was waiting for him to find her so she could say goodbye and maybe this time, finally, it would be for good. She’d see him around, in the friend sense. She’d help him with lesson plans and she’d only spend time with him if Abed and Britta were there too. She’d carry on as she had been. This had just been a small blip on the timeline.

When the footsteps were his though, she couldn’t just say goodbye. She had to explain herself.

“Hey… are you okay? I know I said you could leave if you want, I would have just thought you’d give me some warning.”

She huffed out air, some of the only remaining warmth left in her.

"You said you didn’t want to be alone, right? That everyone in there was married or had been?”

His half smile faded, forming into a frown. He didn’t move any closer, he just waited; confused.

“Well, why don’t you find someone? Why don’t you find someone to come to things like this with you? Because I was just on my way home from work and then I saw you there… and this was the sort of thing I told myself I wouldn’t keep doing. I’m fooling myself but I’m not ashamed to say that and you don’t have to feel ashamed because you’ve realised that’s something that you want. There are _plenty_ of people in the world who would want to be with you. You don’t have to act or pretend, you just have to let them know.”

He froze, a twinge of confusion still written on his face. His mouth felt dry and his cheeks felt flushed and he could feel it all threatening to spill out.

“I can’t start doing this again. I can’t be some sort of fall back, I mean… even if I am one, I sort of just presumed that Br-.”

"Look, back there, I know it seemed like I was putting on an act but, that wasn't acting.”

It was her turn to look confused, her mouth pursed closed mid-sentence.

“I'm terrible at acting. Abed knows it. I'm as bad at acting as I am at pottery. Like, I really suck. My accents are terrible and you can tell when I’m trying. It’s one thing I’ll never be able to perfect. But, that wasn't acting... it's just natural because...”

He sighed and watched the green light change to amber and to red where it was reflecting on the ground beneath their feet.

“Maybe... I was fooling myself too. You know, for a short while?” He stared at her like it was simple, “I could fool _everyone_ in that room into thinking that... I was actually brave enough to start something with you. And because I know that doesn't make any sense, I could also pretend that you would have actually had said yes. And yeah, I'm really embarrassed and I'm sorry that sometimes spending time with me is worse than not. Trust me, I _wish_ I was that guy back in there.”

He licked his lips as hers parted. He could feel his heartbeat in his ears, pounding. His throat was rough too like it could break. Like all of him could break in that moment.

"And... if I was your fiancé then I'd say that I love you but, I don't get to say that because I screwed up, and people who screw up don't get what they get in there... they get _me_. They don’t get you, they get whatever they deserve which in my case, isn’t a lot.”

There was a tear in his eye but for once in his life, he didn’t care.

“You’re right… I really don’t understand.” Her voice was barely audible, just a whisper.

"I... I never meant to say it like this.” He laughed but it sounded sad and self-deprecating like he was laughing at himself. “Oh _wow_ , this is really not how I thought tonight would go."

She wasn’t listening, she was shaking her head and speaking what came to mind.

“You _love_ me?”

Footsteps echoed behind him then so he turned and watched a group leave. They probably looked like nothing to them, just two people having a conversation on the corner of the street. Surprisingly though, someone recognised him in the shadows.

“Goodnight, Jeff. It was nice seeing you.”

His hand limply lifted at his side as Annie took several steps forward without him noticing. More people flowed out onto the street; it was enough.

When her lips found his, it made him stumble forward until he found purchase with his hands on her hips. He wasn’t sure how to respond or even if he should respond so he let her take control and clear his mind. The voices behind them faded as time went by. He took a sharp intake of breath as she stood back on her heels and wiped her finger across her bottom lip.

"May as well make it believable, right?"

He laughed again, breathy and disappointed.

"I don't want it to be believable. I’m _done_ with it being believable.”

This disappointment rubbed off on her, it seemed, until he reignited the hope, bit by bit.

“I want it to be the truth. I mean, not the engagement part, that's thinking way, _way_ too far ahead. I mean _us_. I wasn't even planning on telling you any of this..."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because... you deserve the guy in there." He turned so she could see the door behind him but she wasn’t following, she was fixated on him.

"But if you weren't acting then you _are_ the guy in there."

A car drove past, which he could distract himself with.

"Jeff, you might not have a fancy job or a big house but are you forgetting how easy it is to make me happy? I used to live in an apartment above Dildopolis and I called it _home_. My dresser is from the side of a street and I _love_ it. Sure, years ago I thought maybe I'd marry a really successful doctor but then guess what? _I screwed up too_. My parents abandoned me and I went to rehab for a year. My standards are a little different now. If you treat me like you did in that room then, you're gonna' be fine. And, if that's brave for you then I wanna' see brave Jeff Winger because I _miss_ him.”

Her voice broke and her eyes filled with tears, her cheeks and nose burning. She raised an eyebrow but it was soon lowering itself to reign in her emotions.

“I miss the Jeff Winger who used to love himself as much as he _apparently_ loves me. And yeah, this night is not going the way I thought it would either, I thought I'd be tucked up in bed watching The X-Files right now but screw it! I'm going way off book because I love you too. And I'll say that now because I'm not going to let you live this one down."

He couldn’t tear his eyes off of her now, no matter how many cars passed by. He needed to listen. He needed to hear it.

"I can't tell if you if one day I would say yes but that's mainly because for the past five years I haven't really known where to stand with you. So, if you show me where I do, then there's a _lot_ more chance of that happening."

"You love me?" She’d never heard him speak so softly and so quietly before like the words weren’t meant for him as much as fiancée wasn’t meant for her.

"I never meant to say it like this."

“I guess be both said a lot we weren’t mean to say tonight.”

“It doesn’t mean I don’t want to say it again.”

“Me neither.”

He paused, briefly.

“I love you."


End file.
